Insider Selling: AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS) CFO Sells 5,000 Shares of Stock

AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTS) CFO Andrew Martin Johnson sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.25, for a total transaction of $451,250.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 565,805 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $51,063,901.25. The trade was a 0.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

AST SpaceMobile Price Performance

NASDAQ:ASTS traded up $6.65 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $96.23. 24,664,059 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 16,485,932. The company has a market capitalization of $36.76 billion, a P/E ratio of -54.06 and a beta of 2.60. AST SpaceMobile, Inc. has a 12 month low of $22.47 and a 12 month high of $129.89. The company has a quick ratio of 18.37, a current ratio of 18.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $84.48 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $83.20.

AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS) last announced its earnings results on Monday, May 11th. The company reported ($0.66) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.23) by ($0.43). The company had revenue of $14.74 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $39.01 million. AST SpaceMobile had a negative return on equity of 24.87% and a negative net margin of 573.67%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1952.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($0.20) earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that AST SpaceMobile, Inc. will post -1.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on ASTS shares. New Street Research assumed coverage on AST SpaceMobile in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $80.00 price objective on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Zacks Research raised shares of AST SpaceMobile from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Barclays raised their price objective on AST SpaceMobile from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Roth Mkm reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $108.00 price objective on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $79.45.

Key Stories Impacting AST SpaceMobile

Here are the key news stories impacting AST SpaceMobile this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Defiance launched the Defiance Daily Target 2X Long ASTS ETF (ASTY), giving traders a new leveraged vehicle to bet on AST SpaceMobile’s upside and adding visible market interest in the name. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Orange announced new partnerships with AST SpaceMobile to expand direct-to-cell satellite services, including trials in Romania, reinforcing commercial momentum and potential international adoption. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: The company also received more investor attention after reports highlighted FCC approval for commercial direct-to-device service in the U.S., which supports the case that ASTS is moving from concept toward real revenue opportunities. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Multiple commentary pieces on AST SpaceMobile’s recent momentum, valuation, and technical breakout have kept the stock in focus, but these are mainly sentiment-driven rather than new fundamental developments. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: AST SpaceMobile’s presentation at the J.P. Morgan Global Technology, Media and Communications Conference kept the company on the radar, though no major new operational update was included in the transcript summary. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Some articles continue to frame ASTS as a high-valuation momentum trade after a sharp multi-month run, which could raise concerns about volatility or overextension if enthusiasm cools. Article Title

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AST SpaceMobile

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vodafone Ventures Ltd acquired a new stake in AST SpaceMobile in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $397,413,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in AST SpaceMobile in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $198,270,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in AST SpaceMobile by 13.4% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,919,888 shares of the company’s stock valued at $977,668,000 after buying an additional 2,351,539 shares during the last quarter. Clear Street Group Inc. acquired a new stake in AST SpaceMobile in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $90,129,000. Finally, Morgan Stanley grew its holdings in AST SpaceMobile by 44.0% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 4,661,551 shares of the company’s stock valued at $338,569,000 after buying an additional 1,425,199 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.95% of the company’s stock.

AST SpaceMobile Company Profile

AST SpaceMobile is a U.S.-based aerospace company developing a space-based cellular broadband network designed to connect standard mobile phones and other devices directly to satellites. The company’s core proposition is “space-to-cell” service: operating a constellation of low-Earth-orbit (LEO) satellites equipped with large, high-power phased-array antennas to provide wide-area mobile broadband without requiring users to buy specialized terminals or handset modifications.

AST SpaceMobile designs, builds and operates satellite payloads and supporting ground infrastructure.